Mandan  (CSi)   The 2017 Memorial Day Ceremony will begin at noon, Monday, May 29, at the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery, located 6.5 miles south of Mandan on North Dakota Highway 1806. This annual event, hosted by the North Dakota National Guard, honors all deceased American servicemen and women and is free to the public. This year’s theme is “75 years of Honor – the 164th Infantry Regiment”. The theme commemorates 75 years since this famed North Dakota National Guard unit made history in 1942 when they became the first U.S. Army unit to take offensive action in World War II supporting U.S. Marines on the island of Guadalcanal.

 

Participants should arrive early due to anticipated crowds. Lawn chairs are encouraged as seating is limited. Due to the large attendance anticipated and limited parking near the ceremony area, handicap-marked vehicles are encouraged to arrive before 11 a.m. Shuttle vans marked with yellow flashing lights on top will be available to transport attendees from parking areas to the ceremony. Attendees are encouraged not to drive large vehicles, such as recreational vehicles, campers or tow trailers due to constrained parking.

 

Individuals not attending the ceremony, but dropping off flowers for Memorial Day grave decorations, need to arrive by 10:00 a.m.

 

This year’s keynote speaker is Staff Sgt. Louis Hanson, a Veteran of the 164th Infantry Regiment during World War II.  The emcee is Col. Thomas “Britt” Hatley, commander of the North Dakota Air National Guard’s 119th Wing in Fargo. Their biographies are in the attached program.

 

Scheduled to render welcoming remarks are Sen. John Hoeven, Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, Lt. Gov. Brent Sanford and Maj. Gen. Alan S. Dohrmann, N.D. National Guard adjutant general.

 

Two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters are scheduled to open the ceremony with a flyover. This aerial display, flown by Soldiers of the North Dakota National Guard, is a formal salute to the fallen military members at the cemetery.

 

The North Dakota Army National Guard’s Fargo-based 188th Army Band’s “Brass Quintet” will perform “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” as well as pre-ceremony music. Also participating in the ceremony are local Veteran organizations and the Bismarck Mounted Police, who will feature a caparisoned riderless horse with boots reversed in the stirrups to symbolize a fallen warrior that can no longer ride into battle.

 

The national anthem will be performed by Mr. Clyde Bauman and Taps by Mr. Harrison Fuller. AMVETs Post 9 will render a rifle salute volley and the North Dakota National Guard Military Funeral Honors Team will execute a 21-gun cannon salute with a World War I-era French 75-millimeter cannon. The most reverent David D. Kagan, Bishop of Bismarck and Chaplain (Col.) John Flowers, North Dakota National Guard, will render Memorial Day prayers.

 

Also in conjunction with Memorial Day, Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park is hosting a Military Appreciation Day by offering free admission to military members, veterans and their families. Fort Abraham Lincoln is located adjacent to the N.D. Veterans Cemetery. For additional information, please call 701-667-6340.

 

In support of the Memorial Day ceremony at the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery, the Viet Nam Vets/Legacy Vets Motorcycle Club is organizing a Memorial Day Veterans Honor Run at “The Shop” (131 Airport Road) in Bismarck. Participants will leave Bismarck at 11 a.m., head west on Main Street, cross the Liberty Memorial Bridge to Mandan’s Memorial Highway. After turning west on Mandan’s 3rd Street SE, the motorcyclists will head south on North Dakota Highway 1806 until they reach the N.D. Veterans Cemetery. To participate in the run, please assemble between 10:00 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. All motorcyclists are invited to participate and no pre-coordination is required.

 

The North Dakota Veterans Cemetery was established by an act of the 1989 North Dakota Legislative Assembly. The cemetery was opened July 1992, and is operated by the office of the North Dakota adjutant general.

 

WHAT: 2017 Memorial Day Ceremony – North Dakota Veterans Cemetery

 

WHEN: May 29, 2017, at noon

 

WHERE: North Dakota Veterans Cemetery, 6.5 miles south of Mandan, N.D.,   on Highway 1806

 

The North Dakota National Guard is a trained and highly motivated force of about 4,000 Citizen-Soldiers and Citizen-Airmen.  We are always prepared to provide ready units, individuals and equipment in support of our communities, state and nation.  Always ready, always there.